rights-type cases. but where there is a private party that is alleged to have forgot the government, -- alleged to have ripped off the government, that is the false claims act. host: a few issues that the false claims act. i -- that the false claims act prohibits. host: that according to the justice department. we are talking to colette matzzie about the false claims act, some of its history, and some of its applications today. matthew is up next on our line for democrats. thanks for calling "washington journal." caller: i would like to ask about the whistleblower law. can it be used for the tarp and banks that are too big to fail and can it be used for iraq, afghanistan, and syria, the eu building that we did, and the $12 trillion deficit caused? guest: well, in that context, taking the war context first, there is -- you know, there have been more cases, there will continue to be more cases. it is likely there are cases under investigation. ae typical were case involves private defense contractor who h